Thomas Bulfinch
Thomas Bulfinch (born July 15, 1796 in Newton, Massachusetts , † May 27, 1867 in Boston ) was an American banker and writer. His best-known work is Bulfinch's Mythology , one of the most famous legends in American literature.
Life
Bulfinch came from a medium-sized merchant family. His father was the well-known architect Charles Bulfinch (1763-1844), who, among other things, had designed the Capitol in Washington, DC . Thomas Bulfinch studied at Harvard University , received his bachelor's degree in 1814 and taught for a time at the Boston Latin School . In accordance with the traditions of his family, he switched to the commercial sector: he worked as a warehouse assistant and eventually went into business for himself, but was unsuccessful as an entrepreneur. From 1836 he earned his living as an employee of the Boston commercial bank.
In his spare time, Bulfinch worked as a writer. He wrote a total of eight books, including a collection of psalms and a school edition by William Shakespeare .
The sagas and legends of Europe were largely unknown to the reading public in the United States in the 19th century. Foreign languages and world literature were only taught in very few schools. Bulfinch, who brought with him extensive literary knowledge from family and studies, jumped into this gap with his retelling of ancient and medieval myths and legends . His saga books made ancient mythology accessible to a larger audience in the United States for the first time. In framing the myths, Bulfinch followed Virgil and Ovid most closely .
The broad reception of Bulfinch's Mythology began in 1881, when the work was published under this title by Edward Everett Hale . Bulfinch's Mythology was a compilation of the three legends of Bulfinch: The Age of Fable (1855), The Age of Chivalry (1858) and Legends of Charlemagne (1863). The book was published several times and since then has been one of the popular representations of ancient mythology in the English-speaking world, comparable to Gustav Schwab's legends of classical antiquity .
Fonts (selection)
- Hebrew Lyrical History . Boston 1853
- The Age of Fable: Or, Stories of Gods and Heros . Boston 1855
- The Age of Chivalry . Boston 1858
- The Boy Inventor: A Memoir of Matthew Edwards, Mathematical-Instrument Maker . Boston 1860
- Legends of Charlemagne . Boston 1863
- Poetry of the Age of Fable . Boston 1863
- with Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch: Shakespeare Adopted for Reading Classes . Boston 1865
- Oregon and Eldorado . Boston 1866
literature
- Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable; The Age of Chivalry; Legends of Charlemagne . Edited with a Commentary by Richard P. Martin . 1991
- Marie Cleary: Bulfinch, Thomas . In: Ward W. Briggs (Ed.): Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists. Greenwood Press, Westport CT et al. 1994, ISBN 0-313-24560-6 , p. 72.
- Marie Sally Cleary: Myths for the Millions. Thomas Bulfinch, His America, and His Mythology Book . Frankfurt am Main 2007 ( Cultural Transfer and Gender Research , Volume 4)
Web links
- Entry on Thomas Bulfinch in the Database of Classical Scholars (English)
- Literature about Thomas Bulfinch in the catalog of the German National Library
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bulfinch, Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American banker and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 15, 1796 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newton (Massachusetts) |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 27, 1867 |
| Place of death | Boston |